What does Google say about SEO?

Can Geolocation-Based JavaScript Redirects Really Be Crawled Safely by Google?

Martin Splitt Oct 30, 2020 ★★

Modifying the URL and content during hydration based on user location is generally acceptable. Caution is necessary if rendering fails, as Google might see the server-side content. Testing is essential, and a gradual rollout is recommended.

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure Local Search Redirects International SEO

Should you really be concerned about corrupted titles in the site: operator?

Martin Splitt Oct 30, 2020 ★★

If you see default titles or corrupted descriptions in the results of the site: operator, it's not really a problem since Google generally does not use these versions for real search queries. It becomes more concerning if this appears for actual quer...

Content AI & SEO

Should you really sacrifice tracking accuracy to speed up your page loading?

Martin Splitt Oct 30, 2020 ★★★

Third-party scripts such as Google Analytics or Yandex Metrica slow down the page. They should be loaded as late as possible using the defer attribute, after the vital JavaScript that displays the content, while accepting a potential loss of some tra...

Domain Age & History Content JavaScript & Technical SEO Local Search

Should we really consider Googlebot as a user with accessibility needs?

Martin Splitt Oct 30, 2020 ★★

To explain SEO to developers, think of Googlebot as a user with assistive technology needs: it can’t really see, doesn’t necessarily understand text at first glance, and requires semantically rich data.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Should we treat SEO visibility as a technical requirement just like performance?

Martin Splitt Oct 30, 2020 ★★

Developers must consider search engine visibility as a technical requirement just like performance or accessibility. A fast and accessible site is pointless if no one can find it.

Content JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance Search Console

Do 302 redirects really pass PageRank like 301 redirects?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

Google treats both 301 and 302 redirects similarly when it comes to the transmission of SEO signals. Both types of redirects pass PageRank and other signals. The difference mainly lies in the choice of the canonical URL to index, not in the loss of s...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Redirects

Does the canonical tag really transfer 100% of PageRank without any loss?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

When Google follows a canonical tag, all SEO signals including PageRank are transferred to the canonical URL. There is no loss of value when the canonical is used correctly.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks Domain Name

Should you really avoid putting all your outbound links in nofollow?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★

Putting all outbound links in nofollow does not violate guidelines, but it can have a slight negative impact. Google uses links to understand how a site fits into the web. If all links are nofollow, it can complicate this analysis.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Do PageSpeed tests really mislead you about your Core Web Vitals?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

Google uses real-world data from the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) to evaluate Core Web Vitals, not lab tests. What actual users see matters more than synthetic tests.

Web Performance

Should you really block cookie banners for Googlebot?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

Blocking cookie banners for Googlebot is not considered cloaking and will not result in a manual penalty. In most cases, these banners are implemented in JavaScript or HTML, and Google can index the main content normally.

Content Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam

Why does Google still display old content in your meta descriptions?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★

Google adapts the snippets and descriptions based on the user's query, even if the content is no longer present on the page. This adaptation can persist for a few weeks after a content change before it stabilizes automatically.

Domain Age & History Content Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Should you really return a 404 for products that are permanently unavailable?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

For temporarily unavailable products, displaying a 200 page is acceptable. But for products that are permanently unavailable, using a 404 (or soft 404) status allows Google to crawl more efficiently by reducing the crawl frequency of these pages.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Local Search

Why does Google keep crawling your old 404 URLs?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★

Google continues to occasionally crawl old URLs that return 404, particularly if they had backlinks or were significant. This crawl is done at very low priority and does not block the crawl of new pages. It's a normal behavior.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name

Do 302 redirects really pass as much PageRank as 301s?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

Both 301 and 302 redirects pass exactly the same signals, including PageRank. The difference is solely in canonicalization: Google may index the original URL with a 302, but signals are never lost with a 302.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Redirects

Do 302 redirects really turn into 301s over time?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

Google eventually treats 302 redirects as permanent redirects (301) when they persist over time. This is considered a 'soft 301' from Google's perspective.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Redirects

Should you really use cross-domain canonicals to consolidate multiple thematic sites?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

Using canonical tags across multiple domains (e.g., 25 thematic stores pointing to a main store) is technically correct. It avoids duplicate content but may redistribute SEO strength among the domains, potentially diminishing the visibility of the th...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Why does blocking robots.txt prevent noindex from working?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

You should not block noindex URLs in robots.txt, as this prevents Google from seeing the noindex directive, and these pages may stay indexed. Instead, use the URL Parameters Tool to reduce crawling of unwanted pages.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name

Why does Google still crawl your deleted old URLs?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★

Google occasionally continues to crawl old URLs (returning 404) for years, especially if they had backlinks or were important. It is at low priority and does not block normal site crawling.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name

Does lazy loading really harm your content's indexing by Google?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

When rendering a page, Google uses a fairly high viewport and indexes everything that loads within this viewport. If content requires a specific action (scroll, click on 'Read more'), it will probably not be indexed. Content loaded during the initial...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Images & Videos JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Web Performance

How can you confirm if Google is truly indexing your lazy-loaded content?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2020 ★★★

To check if content is indexed, search for an exact phrase in quotes on Google. This is the ultimate proof that the content is indexed. The Inspect URL tool also allows you to view the fully rendered HTML.

Content Crawl & Indexing Images & Videos Domain Name Search Console